Method of treating bacon



June 7,1938. H, H, MQKEE 2,119,716

METHOD OF TREATING BACON Filed Dec. 22, 1934 Early ii M ffee INVENTOR w/TIYEJJ BY K ATTORNEY Patented June 7, 1938 PATENT OFFICE 2,119,716 METHOD or TREATING BACON Harry H. McKee, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Industrial Patents Corporation, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Application December 22, 1934, Serial No. 758,806 In Canada December 22, 1932 5 Claims.

This invention relates to a method for treating bacon.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a simple, practical and comparatively inexpensive method for treating conventional pieces or slabs of bacon preparatory to slicing.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the description and claims which follow.

This application is a continuation in part of my application entitled Method of treating bacon,

Serial No. 640,799, filed November 2, 1932.

In ordinary practice, bacon is prepared by first curing green bellies and then smoking the cured bellies. Inasmuch as contact is undesirable during the smoking operatiomit is unsatisfactory to attempt to control the shape'of the bacon to any great extent during smoking. Large quantities of smoked bacon are sliced in the packing houses for the package trade. A considerable quantity 0 of bacon is sold in the slab to be sliced by retailers. A comparatively small quantity of slab bacon finds its way to the ultimate consumer to be sliced in the household.

It is desirable that the slices of packaged bacon 5 be as nearly uniform as may be. Due to the natural curling and distortion of the bacon slab during smoking, the ends and edges are normally irregular after smoking.

The present invention contemplates the treat- 3 'ment of bacon to permit the entire slab to be sliced into uniform slices. The purpose of the present invention may be accomplished by appropriate pressing means which do not form a part of the present invention and are not claimed therein.

Referring now to the drawing;

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an ordinary slab of bacon after smoking.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the same or i a similar slab after being treated in accordance with the present invention.

It will be seen from the drawing that the slab depicted in Figure 2 is clearly more desirable for slicing purposes due to the fact that the entire slab may be subdivided into slices of uniform thickness and area.

It is within the purview of the present invention not only to square the ends and sides but to flatten both surfaces. This treatment permits the production of a slice which is for all practical purposes rectangular in shape.

In carrying out the invention, I prefer to prechill the slab bacon to a temperature of approximately 28 F. and use a wooden box mold. It is preferable to select slabs approximately onehalf inch greater in width and length than is the mold.

. By placing in the mold box slabs ofbacon onehalf an inchgreater in length and width than the interior of the mold box, the slabs of bacon 5 are reduced in areaby compression of their side and end edges and uniformity in the thickness of the molded slab, as well as contour, is assured.

The bacon is preferably forced into the mold by hand although of course,'it.may be done by mechanical means. A wooden block which fits into the mold is placed on top after the desired number of slabs have been packed into the mold. The mold is then placed under a press and suflicient pressure applied to the top of the wooden block to cause the several slabs of bacon in the mold to assume a regular squared rectangular shape with all six faces fiat. The invention may be carried out with slabs from which the skin has been removed or not as may be desired. Howan ever, since bacon so treated is normally designed for machine slicing, in ordinary practice skinned bellies are used. In either event, the skin side or the skinned side as the case may be, of one slab is adjacent to the face side of the next slab, except of course, the top and bottom slab, one side of each of which is not in contact with another slab. It is found that the face or lean surface is sufliciently rigid to provide a flattening surface for the fat or skinned side of the adjacent slab. It is also clear that the weight of the superimposed slab as well as the weight of the wooden block or other weight on the top of the mold contributes to the pressing of the lowermost slab and this would be true irrespective of whether or not other pressure be applied, as with a press such as a conventional export press.

In carrying out the invention, slabs of bacon which have been processed as by curing and smoking may be reduced to a temperature of approximately 60 F. and the skin removed. The slabs of bacon are arranged in a tier in the form as has already been described and the bacon subjected to a temperature of approximately 0 F. a sumcient length of time to cause the bacon to assume the desired shape.

In one modification of the invention, fiat separators, which may be of rigid metal or any other .desired material, are interposed between successive slabs.

It is to be understood, of course, that any mold or die press may be used to carry out the present invention to produce bacon slabs and dry salt bellies which require a minimum of trimming.

It, also, will be understood that changes may be.

made in the manner of carrying out he invention without departing from the spirit thereof as defined in the following claims:

What is claimed is:

1. The method of treating bacon which consists in arranging skinned slabs of bacon with their fat and lean surfaces in superposed relationship in a form of less area than the slabs, applying pressure against the slabs to flatten the fat and lean surfaces and to reduce the area of thelslabs to correspond to the area of the form,

and subjecting the slabs while under pressure to a temperature sufliciently low and for a sufiicient length of time to cause the slabs to set.

2. The method of treating bacon which consists in reducing the temperature of slabs of bacon to approximately 60 F., removing the skin from the slabs, arranging the skinned slabs with their fat and lean surfaces in superposed relationship in a form of less area than the slabs, applying pressure against the slabs to flatten the fat and lean surfaces and to reduce the area of the slabs to correspond to the area of the form, and subjecting the slabs while under pressure to a temperature sufficiently low and for a suflicient length of time to cause the slabs to set.

3. The method of treating bacon which consists in arranging skinned slabs 'of bacon with their fat and lean surfaces in superposed relationship with flat separators between the slabs and in a form of less area than the slabs, applying pressure against the slabs to flatten the fat and lean surfaces and to reduce the area of the slabs to correspond to the area of the form, and subjecting the slabs while under pressure to a temperature sufliciently low and for a sufficient length of time to cause the slabs to set.

4. The method of treating bacon which con-1 sists in arranging skinned slabs of bacon with their fat and lean surfaces in alternately superposed relationship with flat separators between the slabs and in a form of less area than the slabs, applyingpressure against the slabs to flatten the fat and lean surfaces and to reduce the area of the slabs to correspond to the area of the form, and subjecting the slabs while under pressure to a temperature sumciently low and for a sufficient length of time to cause the slabs to set.

5. The method of treating bacon which consists in reducing the temperature of slabs of bacon to approximately 60 F., removing the skin from -each of the slabs, arranging the slabs with their fat and lean surfaces in alternately superposed relationship with flat separators between successive slabs and in a form of less area than the slabs, applying pressure against the slabs to flatten the fat and lean surfaces and to reduce the area of the slabs to correspond to the area of the form, and subjecting the slabs while under pressure to a temperature approximately 0 F. for a sufficient length of time to cause the slabs to set.

- HARRY H. McKEE. 

